A young woman was "slashed in the face" in an attack in broad daylight in Dublin city centre yesterday.

The woman was assaulted on Golden Lane near the Radisson Blu hotel at around 7.20pm.

A source said she received knife injuries to her face and was immediately rushed to St James's Hospital for treatment. Witnesses at the scene described the attack as "vicious".

Gardaí are investigating whether the brutal slash attack is linked to an incident two weeks ago where criminal Mark Burke had almost all of his ear severed in a nearby flat complex.

Investigations are ongoing into the attack on the young woman last night but sources said that gardaí do not believe she had any "any involvement whatsoever" in the savage attack on Burke at Whitefriar Gardens flats in the south inner city.

However, sources say that the thugs "wrongly believe" that the young woman was present when the notorious criminal had almost all his ear severed.

A man and woman were arrested in connection with the face slash on the woman and gardaí said they were last night being questioned at Sundrive and Pearse Street garda stations.

The attack on Burke, which is being investigated by officers based at Kevin Street Garda Station, happened at 9am on Wednesday, August 1, after a drug-fuelled house party at Whitefriar Gardens flats.